Control of Persistent Foodborne Pathogens Using Visible Light-Activated Antimicrobial Carbon Nanomaterials

The objective is to explore and validate the use of CDots under visible/natural light for the inactivation and control of persistent foodborne bacterial pathogens on food contact surfaces, thus toward establishing CDots as a new class of photo-activated antibacterial agents to address current critical challenges in food safety. The specific aims are:1) To characterize the effectiveness of several specific CDots platforms for inactivation of the persistent foodborne pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella enterica following bacterial transfer onto representative food contact surfaces including stainless steel and polyethylene (PE) surfaces. The selected CDots platforms for evaluation of the effectiveness will include EDA-CDots [EDA=2,2'-(ethylenedioxy)bis(ethylamine)], PEI-CDots (PEI=polyethylenimine), and CTiO2-Dots (CDots with the carbon core coated with TiO2). These CDots are selected based on their already experimentally established potent antibacterial functions against laboratory model bacteria in suspensions. Evaluation tests will be performed on Listeria and Salmonella, used as cocktails and as individually . Experimental factors/conditions will be varied in the effectiveness evaluation, including initial cell density, CDots concentration, treatment time, temperature, etc. The .2) To assessthe antibacterial ability of the CDots with respect to Listeria and Salmonella biofilm formation and control. We will test the potential of the CDots platforms for (1) inactivating L. monocytogenes and S. enterica in established biofilms on the testing surfaces (stainless steel and PE) under different treatment conditions; (2) inhibiting adherence and/or biofilm initiation, and (3) abrogating biofilm formation by Salmonella and Listeria on these food contact surfaces.